One blogger cited the quote as coming from Memoirs
of the Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin, a book written in 1818 by
his grandson, William Temple Franklin. I can’t find it in there. I did searches
on the word safety, deserve, liberty, etc.These words were used plenty of times when writing about the American’s
quest for liberty, but never in a sentence that even resembled the quote.

Still, it’s such an awesome quote, don’t you think? Such an
appropriate debate for the times, then and now.

George Fisher, 1898. Page 352, if you’re curious. It seems that Franklin
wrote this during the French and Indian War, around 1755, in a letter to the
Pennsylvania Assembly. As usual, the question of taxes to pay for a war was at
stake, but the American Revolution wasn’t even a twinkle in the old man’s eye
yet.

I don’t profess to grasp the entire meaning of the quote,
but here’s the way I read it.

Braddock's Death at the Battle of Monongahela

Source Wikimedia Common

This work is in the public domain in the United States

because it's copy write has expired.

At that time, Pennsylvania was owned by the Penns and their
lands were exempt from taxes. Parliament wanted to raise taxes on the people of
Pennsylvania to pay for the cost of protecting them against the French and
their Indian allies. The Assembly of PA, of which Franklin was a member, wanted
to tax the Penns. The Penns tried to back the Assembly into a corner by
offering land to members of the military. In the end, Franklin and the PA
Assembly said “Nothin’ doin’” and rejected their offer.

I’m inclined to think that later authors of the Revolution
reused the quote because it was so pithy and sounded so right. But, as my
husband wisely said, “He might have said it more than once.” Like a politician
repeating a favorite line, I suppose.

IMO, the irony of this quote is not so much the recycling of
it, but that Franklin could so soundly reject this offer while he was safely
ensconced in Philadelphia, pretty far from the French and their allies. If he
actually said it again after
potentially signing away his life with the Declaration of Independence, then I
have to give him more credit. At that point, it was literally his neck on the
block – or in the noose as was the fashion.

I would love to hear what those of you who study history for
a living, or who are particularly afflicted with a historical OCD, think about
this particular quote and the context in which it was said.